State bar seeks details of meeting with Aguirre By Alex Roth San Diego Union-Tribune February 19, 2008 SAN DIEGO – The State Bar of California has asked the San Diego City Council to divulge details of a 2005 closed-door meeting in which council members discussed pension litigation with City Attorney Michael Aguirre. Online: When asked about the State Bar investigation yesterday, Michael Aguirre reacted with strong words against San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Alex Roth and the newspaper. For more, go to uniontrib.com/more/polblog At issue is whether, during that meeting, the council gave Aguirre permission to proceed with a pension-related lawsuit on the city's behalf. The lawsuit was thrown out of court last year. For several months, state bar investigators have been looking into Aguirre's conduct while in office. Investigators have interviewed a number of people and subpoenaed documents related to Aguirre's tenure. State bar officials have declined to comment on the investigation. The state bar licenses and disciplines lawyers in the state. Discipline can range from a private reprimand to disbarment. A transcript of the Aug. 2, 2005, meeting is sealed because the discussions are protected by attorney-client privilege, but state bar investigators are asking the council to waive the privilege. The council is to discuss behind closed doors today whether to let state bar investigators see the transcript, according to a meeting agenda. Opposing lawyers in the pension litigation have complained for several years that Aguirre didn't obtain proper authorization from the council to proceed with the suit on the city's behalf. Without explicitly detailing his closed-door discussions with the council, Aguirre has insisted he had proper authority. In a Sept. 30, 2005, court filing, Aguirre's office said Aguirre was “authorized to represent the city of San Diego in this action by ratifying vote taken on August 2, 2005.” The lawsuit sought to overturn certain pension benefits for city workers. A Superior Court judge dismissed the case last year after two years of litigation, during which Aguirre's office spent at least $968,000. Aguirre has filed an appeal. Aguirre refused to comment about the state bar investigation yesterday, saying he was forbidden from publicly discussing the probe. In the past, he has argued that he has wide latitude under the city charter to pursue litigation without approval from the council. City Council President Scott Peters, who is running to unseat Aguirre in the June 3 election, said yesterday that he would support waiving the attorney-client privilege so state bar investigators could see the transcript. Peters has said publicly that Aguirre's actions in the case went beyond what the council authorized. “We should support the state bar's efforts to get to the bottom of what they're looking at with regard to Mike Aguirre,” Peters said yesterday. Attorney Ann Smith, who represents a municipal employees union that opposed Aguirre in the case, said the transcript would help settle the issue of what the council did or didn't authorize. Alex Roth: (619) 542-4558; alex.roth@uniontrib.com Copyright 1999-2008, California Coastal Coalition Phone: (760) 944-3564